Four Unexpected Ways to Boost eCommerce Conversions

Every eCommerce business would love to improve its conversion rate. And while there are many conventional methods of attempting this, there are also many that are going under the radar. Here we take a look at four rather unexpected methods that any business can to boost their eCommerce conversions. 

1. Use colour effectively (even if it doesn’t match your branding)

A lot has been made about the importance of branding to businesses in all industries. It might even be most important for eCommerce sites, as branding can instil a sense of trust, loyalty, and even repeat business. But it is important to additionally note that you should not allow branding to get in the way of your conversion rate. 

The website of luxury children’s clothes business Childsplay Clothing is a great example of this. “Our site was branded entirely in black and white,” explains Moby Latif, Head of Business Strategy & Development at Childsplay “we felt that a monochrome colour scheme suited the luxury market we operate in”.

When marketing professionals with specialist knowledge of conversion rate optimisation (CRO) encouraged the company to brighten up their ‘add to bag’ buttons and offer text with colour, the company was sceptical – but you can’t argue with results. “We have seen a significant increase in conversions since making the changes” said Latif. 

2. Offer as many communication channels as possible

There are many ecommerce sites that prioritise the sale – they will put all of their efforts into pushing customers towards pages that they believe will convert immediately. However, it should be noted that 92 per cent of customers visiting a site for the first time will not be there to make a purchase. They are visiting the site to gather information; some statistics suggest that the average shopper will interact with a brand more than seven times before converting. 

So, it is a misconception that you need to prioritise a quick sale. It is much better to nurture your potential customers; answer their questions and make them feel at ease with your business and your brand. Ecommerce sites need to be putting their efforts in informing potential customers. 

For example, customers like to see that there are multiple channels of communication available in case they want any questions answered. This means that your site needs to offer options such as live chat and FAQ pages, as well as traditional email addresses, contact pages, and phone numbers in order to achieve more sales. 

According to a report from Sykes, only 26% of eCommerce sites provide an email address. But almost half or 46% of consumers in the U.S. want to use email to resolve issues they might have. Increasing the amount of communication channels is critical to increase conversion.

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3. Don’t censor your reviews

Ecommerce sites are beginning to understand the importance of customer reviews – they can make a huge difference to your conversion rate. However, some sites make the mistake of believing it is important to have a flawless rating; after all you want to show off your business, and the products that you sell, as the best. But as it turns out, having only five stars actually isn’t as effective as you might think. 

This is true for a number of reasons. Firstly, customers tend to have more trust in organisations that are able to admit their strengths and weaknesses. When two- and three-star reviews are mixed in with a majority of high positive reviews, it shows customers that you aren’t creating fake reviews, and can be trusted to present your products in an honest way. Only eight per cent of customers believe that businesses should have five-star rating. 

Additionally, having some lower rated reviews gives you the opportunity to respond and tell your side of the story. Prospective customers like to see that you take negative comments and issues seriously and are prepared to make the situation right. 

4. Invest time in writing unique product descriptions

Unique product text is one of the most important things that you need to invest time in on your website. It may well be the case that you are selling products that appear on other sites – and it can look like a great time saving option to simply copy-and-paste the description that is being used on your competitor’s site.

However, it is important to note here that when Google sees pages that have the same content as others that are already indexed in its listings, it simply ignores those pages. This means that your copied product descriptions will lead to you being ignored by the world’s most important search engine – not a smart move for increasing conversions.